Mabel's Fables
by Jicem977
Summary: Dipper, Soos and Mabel get trapped in a storybook and have to act out fairy tales in order to escape. However, there's more to this world than it appears at first glance.
1. Chapter 1

It was another slow day at the Mystery Shack. Wendy had gone home early, so Stan left Soos, Dipper, and Mabel to watch over the gift shop. Dipper sat behind the counter, flicking through an issue of Wacky News in boredom, while Mabel played with a Magic 8-ball she found.

"Grunkle Stan told us not to touch anything, Mabel," said Dipper.

"I just want to ask the Magic 8-ball a question," said Mabel.

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Fine, but don't blame me when you get in trouble."

"Will Dipper ever loosen up?" Mabel asked the ball.

Mabel turned the ball around and looked through its tiny window as the answer revealed itself to her.

"Don't count on it," she read aloud.

Mabel giggled and put the magic 8-ball back where she got it, next to a stack of books, one of which caught her eye as she was returning the ball.

"Look at this! Fairy Tales and Other Stories for Children!" said Mabel.

Soos, who was sweeping up the floors, perked up at the sound of the book's title.

"My grandma reads those to me all the time!" exclaimed Soos.

Dipper and Mabel looked at Soos with confused expressions.

"I mean used to. Used to read them to me," corrected Soos, who then went back to sweeping the floors.

Mabel grabbed the book and blew the dust off of its back cover.

"Little Red Riding Hood? Hansel and Gretel? Snow White? These are some of my favorite stories!" gushed Mabel. "I can't wait to read it!"

"Yeah, yeah, read your fairy tales. Meanwhile, I'll be reading something intellectually stimulating," said Dipper, reading a tabloid with the headline: "I Married a Unicorn".

Mabel opened the book and put her finger on the first page. "Once upon a time…"

Suddenly, Mabel, Dipper, and Soos were in the forest.

"What the…" Dipper, who had been sitting, fell onto his back.

"Wow! We're _in_ the story!" said Mabel.

"Can you get us _out_ of the story?" said Dipper, standing now and brushing dirt off his back.

"I don't know how."

"Wait, I've got an idea," said Soos. "If we play out the fairy tale, we should be able to go home once we're finished."

"How are we supposed to play out the fairy tale?" asked Dipper. "I don't see a wolf around."

"Uh, Dipper…" Mabel pointed to patches of fur on the back of Dipper's hands.

"What?" Dipper saw the patches and screamed. "No! This is not happening! This is not happening!"

A few seconds later, Dipper's entire body was covered with fur.

"This is happening," he sighed.

"I guess that means I'm the lumberjack," said Soos. "See you guys later!"

Soos hurried off. Mabel noticed a basket of food in her hands, and Dipper, smelling it, licked his lips.

"Hey, Mabel, would you mind sharing some of that with me?" asked Dipper. "I'm starving."

"Oh no, I can't! It's for my grandma!" said Mabel, winking before she ran off into the forest.

Dipper growled. He tried to chase Mabel, but his feet got too big for his shoes, making him trip.

"Stupid wolf feet!" said Dipper, who tried to pull his shoes off, but when he couldn't, he used his sharp teeth to do it instead.

By the time he got both of his shoes off, Mabel was out of sight. Dipper wandered through the forest, occasionally putting a berry in his mouth and spitting it out due to the sour taste. When he could hardly bear his hunger anymore, he noticed a bunny hopping along. Without even thinking, Dipper lunged at the bunny and ate it whole.

"Hey! I saw him first!" said a voice behind Dipper.

Dipper turned around to find a bigger wolf with bigger teeth and bigger, yellow eyes looking down at him. Dipper tried to run, but the wolf grabbed him by the tail.

"Not so fast," said the wolf. "I didn't know there were others like me in this forest."

"I'm not from here," said Dipper.

"You aren't?" The wolf raised an eyebrow.

"No, my stupid sister brought me here. Listen, I didn't mean to go after your prey. I was just really hungry. Please let me go. I won't do it again."

"Of course. Anything for my fellow canine."

The wolf let go of Dipper's tail, and Dipper ran away as fast as he could. When he finally stopped, he noticed a log cabin in the distance.

"That must be grandma's house," he said. "Meaning it must be where Mabel is!"

Dipper ran to the cabin and pounded on its door. The old woman who lived in the cabin peeked at Dipper through a pair of logs.

"Let me in!" shouted Dipper.

"Not by the hair on my chinny chin chin!" said the woman.

"What?"

"You heard me!"

"If you don't let me in, I'll huff, and I'll puff!"

Dipper took a deep breath and then blew at the cabin, causing it to collapse.

"Oh, no!" said Dipper. "What have I done? I killed grandma!"

Meanwhile, Mabel was skipping through the forest as a group of birds dropped a red riding hood over her.

"Thanks, guys!" she said.

As Mabel reached the end of the forest, she spotted what was left of the cabin, and she hurried to it.

"Grandma? Are you okay?" she asked.

Dipper popped out of the wreckage wearing the old woman's clothes.

"Yes, dear! Nothing to see here!" said Dipper.

Mabel smiled. "Grandma! What big ears you have!"

"The better to hear you with, my child."

"But what big eyes you have!"

"The better to see you with."

"What big hands you have!"

"The better to hug you with."

"And what a big mouth you have!"

"The better to eat your goodies with!"

Dipper jumped out of the woman's clothes and grabbed Mabel's basket with his big hands.

"I'm glad you're getting the hang of this, Dipper!" said Mabel, taking her basket back.

"Gimme the basket!" said Dipper, pulling it his way.

"Sorry! Can't do that!"

"I'm not fooling around!"

As Dipper and Mabel tugged the basket back and forth, Soos showed up wearing a lumberjack costume and holding an axe.

"Hey, dudes. Like the getup?" said Soos.

"Tell Mabel to let go of this thing!" said Dipper.

"You two shouldn't be fighting," said Soos.

Soos raised his axe and used it to cut the basket in two, spilling its contents on the ground.

"There. Now you can share it," said Soos.

Before Dipper or Mabel could pick anything up, ants covered the food and left it as nothing but crumbs.

"Aww," said Dipper.

* * *

A man in a large castle watched Dipper, Mabel, and Soos through a crystal ball. The wolf from earlier walked up beside the man.

"Sir, we have visitors," said the wolf.

"I know," said the man, rubbing the wolf's head. "I know."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** This is my first Gravity Falls fanfic. I started this back in August 2014 but didn't bother to finish this chapter until now. However, the story will still take place before all of the big revelations of Season 2, so you won't have to worry about spoilers if you haven't caught up yet. I plan for this to be a cross between Gravity Falls, Once Upon a Time, and maybe Shrek, but overall, it'll be its own thing. Definitely stick around, because there are lots of twists and turns in store and lots of fairytale goodness.


	2. Chapter 2

Mabel and Dipper were back in the middle of the forest. Dipper was no longer a wolf, and he and Mabel were now wearing German clothing.

"What the heck happened?" asked Dipper.

"We must have finished the first story. Ooh, you look good in lederhosen, Dipper!" teased Mabel.

Dipper clenched his fists. "Let's just get this over with."

"Alright, alright. Since I assume we're Hansel and Gretel now, we just need to find the house made out of candy."

"If we're Hansel and Gretel, who's Soos?"

"I'm not sure."

Mabel looked around.

"I'm not even sure where Soos is," she added.

* * *

Soos was walking through another part of the forest, looking for Dipper and Mabel.

"Dudes? Dudes, where are you?" shouted Soos.

Soos' stomach rumbled, then he smelled freshly baked cookies not too far away.

"I don't think they'll mind if I stop for a little snack," reasoned Soos.

Soos followed the scent to a house that was built from gingerbread with cakes all around it. He noticed that the windows were actually clear sugar. His mouth began to water.

"Oh, man! I can't wait to show Mabel and Dipper this place!" said Soos.

The gingerbread house's door opened, and a gingerbread man ran out.

"Run, run, run as fast as you can!" said the gingerbread man. "You can't catch me! I'm th-"

Soos grabbed the gingerbread man and bit its head off.

"Oh, the humanity!" cried the gingerbread man as Soos threw the rest of it into his mouth.

"Yum. Just like granny makes them," said Soos.

Soos walked into the gingerbread home and saw a woman stirring boiling water in a pot with a broom.

"Hi, ma'am," said Soos. "Don't want to intrude, but I just wanted to let you know that one of your cookies ran away."

"That's okay. There's more," said the woman, turning around. "My, my, my. You're a very plump boy, aren't you?"

"That's a weird thing to say to somebody," said Soos.

"You stay right there," said the woman. "I have plenty more treats to fill you up."

 _My brain's telling me to go, but my stomach's telling me to stay_ , thought Soos.

The woman took a platter of gingerbread cookies out of her oven.

 _Sorry, brain_ , thought Soos.

Mabel and Dipper reached the spot where they had heard Soos' shouting.

"I'm pretty sure it came from here," said Dipper.

"Hey, do you smell gingerbread?" asked Mabel.

"Yeah, I do," said Dipper.

Mabel and Dipper followed the smell to the gingerbread house.

"There's the candy house I was talking about!" exclaimed Mabel.

"Oh, no! Soos!" cried Dipper.

Mabel and Dipper ran into the house to find Soos in the woman's pot of boiling water. Soos' stomach was bloated, and he looked sick.

"I shouldn't have eaten all those cookies," mumbled Soos.

"Don't worry, Soos! We'll get you out of there!" said Dipper.

"Will you?" said the woman, who was now behind him.

Dipper screamed. "Stay back, witch!"

"You say 'witch' like it's a bad thing," said the witch. "Not all of us eat our fellow humans. Just I do."

"Wait, you eat people? That's messed up," said Soos.

"Not only does she eat people, she's about to eat _you_! Get out of there!" cried Dipper.

"You got it," said Soos.

Soos tried to pull himself out of the pot, but he was stuck.

"There…might be a problem," said Soos.

"You're not getting out of here that easily!" cackled the witch as she used magic to bar the door with candy canes and wrap licorice around Mabel and Dipper.

"I can't move!" said Mabel.

"Me neither!" said Dipper.

"I'll eat you two after I'm done cooking him," said the witch. "Oh, poo! I forgot my spices! You three stay right where you are! Not like you have a choice!"

The witch cackled again and left the gingerbread home.

"What do we do? What do we do?" panicked Dipper. "I'm too young to get eaten by a witch!"

"It'll be fine. Just let me think," said Mabel.

"This water actually feels really good," said Soos. "Kind of like a hot bath that's slowly killing me."

"I've got it!" said Mabel. "This rope is made of licorice, right?"

"Right," said Dipper.

"So all we have to do to free ourselves is eat through it!"

"But I hate licorice."

"Do you want to get eaten?"

Dipper sighed. "I guess not."

Mabel and Dipper chewed through the licorice that bound them, and once they were free, they pulled Soos out of the pot of boiling water.

"Thanks, dudes. I was starting to get clammy in there," said Soos.

"Let's get out of here," said Dipper.

"Way ahead of you," said Soos as he jumped through the window and landed hard on the ground outside. "Ow."

Mabel and Dipper walked through the door.

"I really don't know what to do with you sometimes," said Dipper.

Soos chewed on a piece of the broken sugar window. "Totally worth it."

Mabel, Dipper, and Soos walked away from the gingerbread house. Soos noticed a hole in his shirt.

"Oh, no! I must have caught it in the window!" said Soos, putting a finger in his shirt through the hole.

"Be glad all you lost was a piece of your shirt," said Dipper.

"Do you think she'll come after us?" asked Soos.

"How will she know where to find us? We'll be long gone by the time she gets home," said Dipper.

* * *

The witch got to her gingerbread house several minutes after Mabel, Dipper, and Soos left it.

"No!" she screamed. "Now I'll have to go hungry once again!"

"Perhaps not," said a voice behind her.

The witch turned around and saw that the voice belonged to the Big Bad Wolf.

"What do you want?" growled the witch.

"The boss would like to speak to you," said the wolf.

"Tell your 'boss' I'm not in the mood."

"What if I told you I could you find one of your runaway snacks?"

The witch raised an eyebrow. "I'm listening."

The wolf coughed up a piece of paper.

"On this sheet is a locator spell," said the wolf. "All you need to perform it is something that belonged to whomever you're looking for, like a trinket or an article of clothing."

The witch noticed a piece of Soos' shirt hanging from the window.

"An article of clothing, hmm?" said the witch.

The witch grabbed the piece of shirt and threw it into her pot of boiling water. She picked up the paper the wolf coughed up and read off of it. The water in the pot began to glow.

"What do I do now?" asked the witch.

"Take the garment back out," said the wolf.

The witch did that, and the water in the pot stopped glowing.

"The brighter it is, the closer you are to him," explained the wolf. "The dimmer it is, the farther you are. I hope you're in the mood to talk to the king now."

The witch smiled. "You bet I am."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** That's right, I'm doing these now. I've also added an author's note to the first chapter if you would like some more insight into Mabel's Fables as a whole. I might not do an author's note for every chapter, but if I have something to say, this is generally where it'll go. I don't have much to say about this chapter, except I felt a Hansel and Gretel parody was perfect for a Gravity Falls fanfic and this was my first idea when I came up with the story. Mabel mentioned Little Red Riding Hood and Hansel and Gretel when she first got the storybook, and they happen to be what the first and second chapters are based on. If you know the third fairytale she mentioned, you'll have a pretty good idea of what chapter three will be based on. See you then!


	3. Chapter 3

Mabel was in the middle of the forest again, this time alone.

"Dipper? Soos?" she cried out.

A dark figure appeared and raised an ax. Mabel turned around and screamed.

"Hey, hey! It's just me, Soos," said Soos.

Mabel breathed a sigh of relief.

"I think they made me the huntsman in this story," said Soos.

"Which must mean I'm Snow White!" said Mabel with excitement.

Mabel and Soos heard whistling in the distance.

"I wonder what that could be," said Mabel.

"You go find out. I have to find a heart to bring the queen," said Soos.

A squirrel passed by. Soos followed it.

"Hey, squirrel, mind loaning me your heart?" asked Soos. "It'll only hurt for a second."

The squirrel sped up.

"Alright, be that way," said Soos.

* * *

Mabel followed the sound of whistling to a group of dwarfs. Despite his attempts to hide his face, she immediately spotted Dipper in the group.

"Hey, Dipper! You finally found a role that suits you!" teased Mabel.

"As if I wasn't insecure enough about my height," muttered Dipper.

"This is so great! Snow White is my favorite story!" said Mabel.

"Then you'll know exactly what to do to get us out of this stupid book," said Dipper.

"Which dwarf are you, anyway?" asked Mabel. "Let me guess: Grumpy?"

"I'm not talking to you."

"Nailed it!"

A dwarf with a beard climbed onto a large rock.

"All right! We have finished counting our haul, and we have reached today's quota!" said the dwarf.

The dwarfs (minus Dipper) cheered.

"Are you Doc?" asked Mabel.

"Yeah, I am. Who are you?" asked Doc.

"I'm Snow White, stepdaughter of the evil queen!" Mabel replied.

The dwarfs that weren't Dipper gasped.

"W-what do you want with us?" asked Doc.

"The queen wants to kill me, and I need a place to hide from her," said Mabel.

"You can stay with us!" said Doc. "Are the rest of you okay with that?"

"I sure am!" said Happy.

"I guess so," said Dipper.

"A-choo!" said Sneezy.

"What are we talking about?" asked Dopey.

Sleepy was asleep.

"I'll just assume everybody's for it," said Doc.

Mabel followed the seven dwarfs to their cottage, where they set up a place for her to sleep.

"While you're here, you might as well have something to do," said Doc. "How about you gather berries for us while we're out working?"

"I can do that!" said Mabel.

"Hooray! More free time!" said Happy.

"Can I gather berries, too?" asked Dipper.

"No," said Doc.

The dwarfs began to chatter after that, but then they heard a knock on the door and fell silent.

"Little dwarfs, little dwarfs, let me come in!" said a voice from outside.

"Little dwarfs?" repeated Dipper. "Isn't that a bit redundant?"

Doc shushed him. "Don't you know who that is?"

"That voice does sound a little familiar," said Dipper.

Bashful let the owner of the voice in, and it was none other than the Big Bad Wolf.

"It can't be," whispered Dipper.

"Have you seen that wolf before?" asked Mabel.

"I'll tell you about it later," said Dipper.

The wolf looked at Dipper and Mabel and smirked. Doc brought him a bag of jewels, and he counted the jewels carefully.

"It's been wonderful doing business with you," said the wolf.

"You're just going to give him all the jewels you worked for and get nothing in return?" asked Mabel.

"I'm giving them their lives in return," said the wolf before departing.

"That's a nasty old wolf!" said Mabel.

"Be quiet! He could hear you!" said Doc.

"Why are you so afraid of him?" asked Mabel.

"There used to be eight of us," said Happy with an uncharacteristic frown.

Nobody else said anything. That night, Mabel and Dipper laid awake as the other dwarfs slept.

"You think they know we're gone by now at the Mystery Shack?" asked Dipper.

"I hope not," said Mabel. "I don't want gruncle and Wendy to worry about us."

"I'm starting to worry about us."

"Why?"

"The way that wolf looked at us...I don't know, I feel like something bad's about to happen."

"It's just a dumb wolf. Don't worry. If we focus on finishing all the fairy tales, we'll be fine."

"What if we don't finish all the fairy tales? Could we be stuck here forever?"

"Don't think like that, Dipper! We've gotten out of bigger pickles than this. We just need to stick together."

"I hope you're right."

* * *

It was morning now. The dwarfs had gone to work, and Mabel was looking for berries in the forest. While she rummaged through a bush, an old woman in a cloak approached her.

"I couldn't help but notice you working so hard, so I wanted to give you something for a little more energy," said the woman.

The woman revealed a shiny red apple from her cloak, and Mabel felt hypnotized looking at it.

"Thank you, miss. I really appreciate it," said Mabel, taking the apple.

The woman nodded and disappeared. Mabel stared at the apple for a long time.

"Here goes nothing," she finally said.

Mabel prepared to bite into the apple, but then an arrow knocked it out of her hand and pinned it to a tree. She turned around and saw a young man, probably two or three years older than her, holding the bow the arrow came from.

"Who are you?" inquired Mabel.

The man raised an eyebrow in confusion. "You don't know? I'm Charming."

"That you are."

"No, like Prince Charming. How do you not recognize me? Wait, I know. The queen's curse. It caused you to lose your memory, didn't it?"

Mabel, who didn't know how to respond, simply said, "Yep!"

"That explains why you nearly fell for her trick again. Don't worry, Snow White. Even if you don't know who you are, I still know you're the woman I love."

Mabel looked at the apple pinned to the tree, then she looked at Charming's dark green eyes and decided it wouldn't hurt if she played along.

"If that's true, then I'd like to get to know myself," she said with a smile.

* * *

The man in the large castle watched Mabel and Prince Charming in his crystal ball disapprovingly. The old woman from before walked in and transformed into a younger, prettier version of herself.

"That ball is such a waste of glass. Magic mirrors are where it's at," said the woman.

"Do you see this?" said the man. "Your 'stepdaughter' didn't do what she was supposed to do."

"Oh, her generation is so unpredictable. Will we have to try again now?"

"Of course, but this time we'll have some extra motivation."

The Big Bag Wolf walked into the castle with the bag of jewels in his mouth.

"My accessories!" said the woman with delight.

The wolf spit the bag out and bowed his head. "King. Queen."

The queen flinched as she grabbed the bag. "I wish it wasn't always covered in wolf slobber. Still, you're not the worst pet we've had. Remember that dragon?"

The king laughed. "Oh, yes. A bag of jewels wouldn't have survived a trip in his mouth."

The queen took the bag with her to her room as the wolf crawled onto the king's lap and watched the crystal ball with him as he ran his fingers through the wolf's fur.

"We're not done with you yet, Mabel. Not by a long shot," the king said with a smile.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Sorry it took so long to get this chapter out. College has been kicking my butt. However, I never gave up on this fanfic, and I'm glad I finally took the time to sit down and churn something out for you all. Snow White is such an iconic fairy tale that I've been itching to give it my own twist for a while, and Mabel's Fables was the perfect opportunity to do just that. I had so many ideas for Snow White in particular that I couldn't fit them all in one chapter, which is why I'll be continuing the Snow White stuff next chapter. There will also be more revelations about the king and the world of Mabel's Fables in general, so you should definitely keep an eye out for it. And I promise it won't take nearly as long to come out as this chapter. If it does, feel free to send me to the guillotine.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Mabel and Prince Charming sat by a river in the middle of the forest with their feet in the water. They had been with each other for most of the day.

"What are you thinking about?" wondered Prince Charming aloud.

"Just life," said Mabel.

"Ah, yes," said Prince Charming. "Did I ever tell you about how you and I met?"

"Only twenty times now," said Mabel, laughing.

"Make that twenty one times," said Prince Charming, throwing a rock into the river.

* * *

It was three years earlier. Charming, a 12-year-old prince from a neighboring kingdom, was attending a ball celebrating the marriage of King Phillip and his new wife Evelyn. At the ball was Phillip's daughter, Snow White, a 10-year-old girl with black hair and pale skin. Even at that young age, her beauty radiated around her, attracting the attention of many young princes and the hatred of all the other princesses. This led to her living a lonely life, as she wasn't interested in any of the boys that tried to court her; at least, she wasn't until Charming walked into her palace.

"May I have this dance?" asked Charming.

"No, you may not," said Snow White.

Charming laughed. "What's the point of going to a ball if you aren't going to dance?"

"Not that it's any of your business, but I really don't want to be here. My dad just married a woman I hate, and now he expects me to smile and dance and act happy. Well, I'm not happy. I'm not happy, okay?"

"Family problems. I get it. My kingdom's been at war since I was born, so my dad and older brother are never home, and my mom, well, she's never been quite the same since my oldest brother died in the conflict five years ago. Always holed up in her room. I don't feel like I have a family anymore."

After a minute or two, Snow White asked him, "When will you have to enlist?"

"As soon as I turn 13, six months from now. I'm actually looking forward to it. It'll give me something to do at least."

"Aren't you afraid of dying?"

"Nah. We all have to die eventually, and I figure if I'm going out, it might as well be for my kingdom."

Snow White looked down.

"Do you still not want to dance?" asked Charming.

She shook her head.

"That's okay. You'll change your mind sooner or later."

Snow White didn't change her mind, and they spent the night watching the others dance as they stood in the corner, talking to each other, occasionally making fun of the awkward style of some of the dancers. When the night was over, Charming promised to come see her again, and he did and continued to do so over the next six months. Before he left, Snow White promised to give him that dance he had been waiting for if he came back alive. One year later, the war Charming's kingdom was involved in ended in a stalemate, and the soldiers were allowed to come back home. As promised, Snow White and Charming danced at the ball celebrating their return, and they didn't stop dancing for the rest of the night.

* * *

When Prince Charming finished his story, he saw that Mabel was crying.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Nothing. It's just...it's a beautiful story," said Mabel. "I wish I remembered being part of it."

"Don't worry," said Prince Charming, putting Mabel's hand in both of his. "I'm sure there are many more stories for us to make."

"Yeah," said Mabel, wiping away a tear. "I'm sure there are."

* * *

Dipper struggled to keep up with the rest of the dwarves as they trotted home. His forehead was drenched with sweat, and he could barely feel his arms after a long day of work.

"What is Mabel doing? This story should be over by now," he muttered.

When the dwarves entered their cottage, Mabel was nowhere to be found.

"Where'd she go?" said Doc.

"Aw, man. Does this mean we'll have to go hungry again?" asked Sleepy. "I can't sleep on an empty stomach."

"A-choo!" said Sneezy.

"Guys, guys. I'll go look for her," said Dipper.

"You sure you don't need any help?" said Happy.

"I'll be fine," said Dipper.

Dipper walked out of the cottage and headed into the forest. After almost an hour of walking, he prepared to give up and go back to the cottage, but then he noticed an apple pinned to a tree by an arrow.

"What the heck?" whispered Dipper.

"Don't eat that!" screamed Mabel, running towards him.

"I wasn't going to," said Dipper. "Where have you been?"

"I was having a walk with Prince Charming, He's such an interesting person to be around."

"Seriously? I'm out there breaking my back while you're here making googly eyes with someone we need to finish this story!"

"Well, maybe I don't want to finish this story!"

Dipper looked at Mabel with a horrified expression.

"I know it sounds bad," said Mabel, "But during my walk with Prince Charming, he told me how he always felt abandoned by his family, how he never knew true love until he met me."

"Until he met you or Snow White?" asked Dipper.

"What's the difference?"

"There's a huge difference! Snow White is the woman Prince Charming loves. You're the girl who has a family back home who you can't abandon for another one of your summer flings!"

"It isn't that simple," said Mabel. "He remembers this happening before. After he woke Snow White up from her coma, she disappeared, and he thought he'd lost her forever. The last thing I'd want to do is put him through that again."

"Well, you're going to have to," said Dipper. "You're not the only person stuck here, and besides, he's not even real. It doesn't matter what you do to him."

"He might not be real, but the feelings I have for him are. I can't hurt him."

"Mabel, you've known him for a day. You'll get over him just like you got over that merman."

"I wasn't over him until I met Charming."

"And you'll forget about Charming the next time you meet a cute boy, but if we don't get out of here soon, there won't _be_ a next time."

Suddenly, Prince Charming stopped by Dipper and Mabel on a horse.

"Hey! Charming! Have you met my friend Grumpy?" said a nervous Mabel.

"I have not," replied Prince Charming. "Pleased to meet you."

Dipper put on a fake smile as he shook hands with Prince Charming. "Likewise."

"So, what are you doing here?" asked Mabel. "I thought you'd gone home already."

"I just wanted to retrieve my arrow. Father always hates it when I lose them," said Prince Charming.

Prince Charming pulled his arrow out of the tree, causing the apple to fall and roll to Mabel's feet.

"Good thing I kept you from eating that again, huh?" said Prince Charming, slipping the arrow into his quiver and getting back onto his horse.

Suddenly, the queen appeared in a burst of dark energy.

"Queen Evelyn!" cried Prince Charming.

Evelyn began to walk towards Mabel, but then an arrow zipped in front of her. She turned her head and saw Prince Charming with his bow raised and an arrow pointed right at her.

"Stay away from her," he said.

The king appeared in front of Prince Charming and waved his hand, causing the bow and all of Prince Charming's arrows to disappear.

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that," said the king.

"Please don't hurt her," said Prince Charming.

Evelyn continued to walk towards Mabel, but then she leaned down, picked up the apple, and polished it with her dress.

"Good as new," said Evelyn. "Now, let's try this again."

Mabel looked at Evelyn with terror.

"Oh, have I not introduced myself? I'm Queen Evelyn. You probably know me as the hag who offered you this apple the first time," said Evelyn.

"I know who you are," said Mabel.

"Then we're all up to speed. Except the dwarf, but who cares about him?" said Evelyn, pointing to Dipper.

"Hey, I'm not a dwarf!" said Dipper. "I'm actually relatively tall for my age."

"Keep telling yourself that," said the king.

"And who are you?" asked Dipper.

"Since we're all doing introductions, I might as well," said the king. "Hello. I am King Merlin."

"King Merlin?" Dipper stepped back.

"Oh, you have heard of me!" said Merlin. "Well, there isn't any use in prolonging this. Time for you to eat the apple, little girl."

"I will not!" said Mabel.

"She knows exactly what it does," said Prince Charming. "I told her everything."

"How do you even remember? My memory curse worked on those dwarves just fine. Unless your love for Snow White was too strong for my curse to have any effect on your memories of her. Love is such a pain to work around. Good thing it'll be helping me instead of hurting me this time," said Merlin.

"Mabel, I don't want to agree with the bad guys, but we have to move on to the next story. You have to eat that apple," whispered Dipper.

"Snow White, I can't lose you again," said Prince Charming. "I love you."

Merlin waved his hand, and Prince Charming fell off his horse, unconscious.

"Prince Charming!" screamed Mabel.

"I'd love to tell him you aren't really Snow White, but he has to love you for the story to work out like it's supposed to, doesn't he?" said Merlin.

Mabel was quiet.

"Now that he's out of the way, there's nothing keeping you from eating this apple," said Evelyn.

"I'm not going to eat it," said Mabel.

"Oh, I wish you hadn't said that," said Merlin.

Merlin waved his hand, and a bound and gagged Soos appeared in front of him.

"Soos!" cried Dipper.

"I found your fat friend chasing a squirrel," said Merlin. "And if you don't eat that apple right now, I'll turn him into dust."

Mabel covered her mouth, crying. But then she slowly lowered her hands and grabbed the apple.

"I'm sorry, Prince Charming," she whispered as she bit into the apple. She fell to the ground seconds later.

"Alright, she did it!" said Dipper. "Now give us Soos back!"

"No. I'm holding onto him in case I need to use him as leverage again," said Merlin.

"We made a deal!" shouted Dipper.

"The deal was if she did what she was supposed to, I wouldn't kill him," said Merlin. "And I won't. I'll give him a nice little home in my dungeon. Ta-ta!"

Merlin waved his hand, and he disappeared with Soos and Evelyn. Prince Charming woke up immediately after, finding Mabel on the ground with a half-eaten apple still in her hand.

"No," he whispered.

Prince Charming ran to Mabel, felt her cold face, and cried. Dipper watched on contemplatively.

"You really love her, don't you?" asked Dipper.

"I do," said Prince Charming.

"Then I guess I'll just leave you two alone," said Dipper, shuffling away.

After looking at Mabel's still body for what felt like an hour, Prince Charming tearfully kissed her, and before he knew it, she was gone.

"I swear," said Prince Charming, clenching his fists. "I'll find you, and we _will_ be together again!"

"No you won't," said Merlin, who was now behind him.

Prince Charming jumped and turned around. "King Merlin! What are you doing here?"

"Just tying up some loose ends. I should kill you for how much trouble you've caused me, but if worst comes to worst and we have to go through this all over again, I'll need you alive," said Merlin.

"So what are you going to do to me?" asked Prince Charming.

"I'm sending you to my dungeon where you can't meddle with my plans any further," replied Merlin.

"No. You won't get away with this!"

"Who's going to stop me? I'm the most powerful magician in the land!"

Merlin cackled as he grabbed Prince Charming and they both disappeared. Prince Charming ended up in the same dungeon as Soos.

"Hey, dude. Would you like some squirrel meat?" asked Soos.

"No, thank you," grumbled Prince Charming.

"Okay, then. More for me."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I told you it wouldn't take as long as last time. This one only took a month, and the next couple of chapters should come out a lot quicker now that I don't have school to worry about. This is also much longer than previous chapters, clocking in at over 2,000 words, and I didn't even get to go into the king's backstory like I planned, though at least I got to reveal who he really is. You'll probably learn more about him in the future. I also gave the evil queen a name, Evelyn, which is know is really cheesy, but at least it's not as bad a name as Grimhilde. This is definitely a more serious turn for Mabel's Fables, and while next chapter will probably be more lighthearted than this one, you'll still see the effects of this chapter's events. Oh, and if you haven't noticed, I changed the cover image to match the current fairy tale. I'll start doing that for every new chapter, unless I can't think of anything (in which case I'll just return to DipWolf).


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Mabel woke up in the middle of the forest. Her hair was now in golden pigtails.

"Charming," she whispered.

Mabel heard a bear roar behind her, and she screamed.

"Wait! Stop! It's me, Dipper," said the bear.

Mabel turned around to find that the bear was as tall as she was, and the only thing remaining that was Dipper's were his eyes.

"How are you feeling?" asked Dipper.

"Not good," replied Mabel. "How is Soos?"

"I don't know. Merlin disappeared with him."

"No!" Mabel put her face in her hands. "So what I did...was for nothing?"

"Hey! At least we know he's alive!"

Mabel looked up again. "How do we know that? How do we know Merlin is someone we can trust?"

Dipper paused. "I guess we don't know."

"We have to look for Soos and Charming."

"Starting where? And even if we do manage to find out where they are, how do we expect to get past an all-powerful wizard?"

"We can't do nothing."

"There's nothing we can do right now..."

"Son?" growled a voice in the distance.

"...except finish this fairy tale," said Dipper, running after the voice.

"How can I pretend to be Goldilocks when my friends are in danger?" Mabel asked herself.

The smell of porridge immediately made Mabel forget her reservations, as she had eaten nothing but a piece of apple that day. She followed the smell to a brick house, with the sign "Do Not Enter" in front of it.

"Here goes nothing," she said.

Mabel walked into the house and found three bowls of porridge on the kitchen table. She tasted the porridge in the first bowl.

"Too hot," she said with no enthusiasm.

She tasted the porridge in the second bowl.

"Too cold."

She tasted the porridge in the third bowl.

"Just right," she said before drinking the rest of the porridge.

Next, she went into a room with three chairs. The first two chairs were too big for her, but the third chair fit her perfectly.

"Wait, isn't this chair supposed to br-"

The chair broke, and Mabel hit her head as she fell to the floor, knocking her out.

* * *

Dipper found two larger bears, one male and one female, sniffing through bushes.

"There you are, Baby Bear!" said the male bear.

"I'd consider myself more of a Preteen Bear at this point," said Dipper.

The female bear ran to Dipper and hugged him.

"I'm so glad you're okay! I thought I'd have to maul somebody!" said the female bear.

"Yeah, we do not want that," said Dipper uncomfortably.

"I haven't been able to find anything to complement our porridge," said the male bear. "We should probably start heading back before our porridge gets cold."

The female bear shrugged. "I like my porridge cold."

The male bear rolled his eyes. "I know."

As the bears started heading back, Dipper scratched his sides for fleas.

"One thing I did not miss was having fur," groaned Dipper.

"Man, don't you love it out here? Nothing to worry about except the bare necessities," said the male bear.

"Where have I heard that before?" wondered Dipper.

* * *

Back at the house, Merlin appeared next to Mabel's unconscious body. He took out a small bag of powdery material and poured it on her face, causing her to wake up.

Mabel gasped. "Merlin!"

"Hello there," said Merlin.

"What are you doing here?"

"You took a nap a little earlier than you were supposed to. You need to try out the beds first, silly!"

"What did you do with Soos and Charming?"

"They're both safe in my dungeon, but they won't stay safe if you ruin this story."

"I don't believe you. I want to see them."

Merlin sighed. "Fine."

A crystal ball appeared in Merlin's right hand. Mabel looked into it, and she saw Soos and Prince Charming sitting across from each other in a dark, damp place with their ankles tied to the ground.

"They're alive," whispered Mabel, tears forming in her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah. They're alive," said Merlin. "Now go upstairs before the folks you're trespassing on come back."

Mabel ran upstairs, and Merlin disappeared. A minute later, the three bears walked into the house and into the kitchen.

"Someone's been eating my porridge," said the male bear, sniffing the spoon he planned to eat with.

"Someone's been eating my porridge as well!" said the female bear.

"Someone's been eating my porridge, and she didn't leave any for me!" said Dipper, genuinely annoyed.

"How do you know it's a she?" asked the male bear.

"Lucky guess," said Dipper.

The bears went into the room with the chairs, and the male and female bears sniffed theirs.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said the male bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair," said the female bear.

"Someone's been sitting in my chair, and now it's in pieces!" said Dipper.

The male and female bears looked at each other then headed upstairs. Dipper followed them into their room.

"Someone's been sleeping in my bed!" cried the two larger bears.

Dipper ran to his bed and found Mabel laying on it with her eyes closed. She winked.

"You couldn't leave some porridge for me?" whispered Dipper.

"Sorry. I had to stay true to the story," whispered Mabel.

"Who is that?" asked the male bear.

"Oh, uh, someone's been sleeping in my bed, and there she is!" revealed Dipper.

"Let's eat her!" said the male bear.

"She'd make a great complement to our porridge," said the female bear.

"You might want to run," whispered Dipper.

Mabel crawled out of the bed just as the female bear jumped onto it. The bed broke under the female bear's weight.

"As if I didn't have enough furniture get broken today," said Dipper.

Mabel ran out of the room with the male and female bears right behind her. She slid down the staircase's handrail and grabbed two pieces of the chair she broke. She threw the pieces at the bears as they ran towards her, and they fell to the ground dazed. She then sprinted out the front door as Merlin, in his castle, watched her through his crystal ball.

"Good. She's finally playing along again," said Merlin.

Evelyn walked into the room.

"You spend more time with that crystal ball than you spend with me," complained Evelyn.

"We'll have plenty of time to spend together after this is over, but I can't risk something going wrong again," said Merlin.

"Why is this scheme of yours so important, anyway?" asked Evelyn. "Why can't you be happy with what you have?"

"Because I want _more_!" screamed Merlin. "I'll never stop wanting more, and with the power I have, I shouldn't stop."

Merlin looked outside the window of his castle.

"This isn't my destiny," he continued. "I don't deserve to live like a king. I deserve to live like a god."

Merlin turned around.

"And nobody's going to stop me from trying to do that," he said.

Evelyn walked out of the room, saying nothing. Merlin turned back towards the window.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I didn't get this chapter up as soon as I wanted to, mostly due to lack of motivation. While I do have most of Mabel's Fables planned out, the hardest thing has always just been sitting down and writing it. I won't make any more promises about how fast I'll get out the next installments, but you will see them, even if it takes a month of two. Until then, here's a relatively standard fairy tale send-up before we jump back into the plot. There's even a Jungle Book reference in there because I was feeling really silly today.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Peter had just finished counting all his sheep, and he was sitting by his crook out of boredom. He had begun to hate the occupation of shepherding, which he got into when he turned 13, attracted to the promise of independence. However, even though he was independent, he was also lonely. He went into a nearby village every other day to trade, but most of the people there never gave him a second look. They never cared about him. Not until the first time he cried, "wolf!"

He wasn't really sure why he did it that first time. He said it without much thought, but the way the other villagers looked at him after that made him want to keep going. He made up a story about a wolf attacking his flock, and he claimed he needed help to scare it away and try to salvage whatever was left of his beloved sheep. He wasn't sure why the villagers followed him. Maybe they pitied him. Maybe they hoped they'd come back with lots of free wool and sheep meat. Whatever the reason, almost the entire village followed Peter back to his field, showering him with condolences as they walked. Peter finally had something he didn't have since he was 13: attention.

The villagers eventually realized there was no wolf, and they scolded Peter for lying to them. Peter apologized and promised never to do it again. However, he did do it again a few weeks later. He knew it was wrong, but the feeling of being cared for was a feeling he wanted to have one more time. Not as many villagers came back with him this time, but the ones who did wanted to believe that Peter had reformed and that he wouldn't go to them unless his sheep were really in trouble. Of course, they weren't, and once the villagers found that out, they were twice as angry as before. They spent an hour shouting at Peter, and they stormed back to their village leaving Peter feeling more alone than ever before.

Peter fell asleep by his crook, but then the sound of howling woke him up.

"Wh-who's there?" asked Peter.

Peter turned around and saw the Big Bad Wolf running towards him, knocking out any sheep that happen to be in his path.

"No! It can't be!" cried Peter.

Peter ran as fast as he could, managing to stay ahead of the wolf as he entered the village.

"Help! I'm being chased by a wolf! Help!" screamed Peter.

It was nighttime, so many of the villagers were asleep. However, the ones that weren't didn't bother to leave their houses for what was probably another one of Peter's lies. And if it wasn't, he deserved it. Every window curtain stayed closed. Every lantern stayed off. Peter realized that the villagers no longer cared about him. His legs began to tire out, but the wolf's didn't, and before he knew it, the Big Bad Wolf was on top of him.

"Hello, Peter," said the wolf. "Or should I say...Pinocchio?"

"I...I don't know what you're talking about," said Peter, looking away.

"It isn't good to lie," said the wolf. "You of all people should know that."

The wolf suddenly coughed up a feather.

"Sorry," said the wolf. "I ate a duck before coming here."

* * *

Dipper, who now had scaly skin and pointy ears, found Mabel in the part of the forest where she had first confronted Merlin. She was looking down at the apple she had bitten into.

"Are you all right?" asked Dipper.

"I am," said Mabel. "It's just...this is the last place I saw him."

"We'll find them," said Dipper. "And Soos. I promise, we'll find them."

"How about I give you a head start?" said a voice from the bushes.

"I know that voice," said Dipper.

The Big Bad Wolf walked out of the bushes and smiled.

"Miss me?" said the wolf.

Mabel lunged at the wolf, who easily avoided her.

"Whoa, there! I was just going to show you to the king," revealed the wolf.

"King Merlin?" said Mabel.

"The one and only," said the wolf.

"Do you work for him or something?" asked Dipper.

"Yes, I do," said the wolf.

"Why? You don't seem like someone who'd work for anybody," said Dipper.

"I owe a lot to Merlin. He took me in when my pack abandoned me," said the wolf. "Now, are we going to meet the king or not?"

Dipper and Mabel followed the wolf to the King Merlin's castle. When they walked in, the jewels around them were so shiny they had to cover their eyes.

"You can thank the dwarves for that," said the wolf.

Merlin walked down the stairs wearing nothing but a gold-encrusted robe.

"There she is! The miller's daughter with the ability to spin straw into gold!" said Merlin.

"With the ability to what?" asked Mabel. "Wait a minute! This must be Rumpelstiltskin!"

Mabel turned to Dipper.

" _You_ must be Rumpelstiltskin!" she said.

"Great," sighed Dipper. "More for me to do."

"Big Bad, check up on the prisoners," said Merlin. "I'll be escorting these two to their room."

The wolf nodded and headed towards the dungeon.

"That must be where Soos and Charming are," whispered Mabel.

"It is indeed!" said Merlin. "And that's where they're staying until further notice!"

Merlin waved his hand, and he appeared with Dipper and Mabel in a room on the top floor of the castle.

"How do you like my guest room?" asked Merlin.

"Where's the door?" asked Dipper.

"It doesn't need one, since I'll be the only one going in and out of it," said Merlin.

"So this is basically just another dungeon," said Mabel.

"Don't think of it like that," said Merlin. "You'll be free again as soon as you turn this straw..."

Merlin made a pile of straw appear.

"...into gold," Merlin continued. "And if you don't, I'll kill your friend Soos."

Merlin made a spinning wheel appear in front of the pile of straw.

"If you're such a powerful wizard, why don't you turn that straw into gold yourself?" asked Dipper.

"I can't. That isn't how the story works," said Merlin.

"Why do you want us to finish these stories so bad, anyway?" asked Mabel. "What do you get out of it?"

"I'm sure you'd love to know that," said Merlin. "Sadly, I can't tell you."

"Can you tell us why you sent your wolf to get us instead of just poofing us here yourself?" asked Dipper.

"I figured some walking would be good for you two," said Merlin. "Plus, Big Bad really wanted to see you two again."

"Is Big Bad the name you gave him?" asked Dipper.

"Yes. It used to be Small Sad, considering he was very small and very sad when I first found him. But, after I worked my magic on him, Big Bad was much more fitting. Still, he usually just goes by 'the wolf'," said Merlin.

"What kind of magic did you work on him?" asked Mabel.

"Made him bigger, stronger, made him able to talk. It may come as a surprise to you, but not all the wolves around here are able to talk," said Merlin.

"I figured that," said Dipper.

Merlin chuckled. "You know, the reason I took him in as my own is because, like him, I was ostracized as a child for something I couldn't control, but I learned not to worry about the things I can't control and to focus on the things I can. I assume you two have heard about King Arthur?"

"Yeah," said Mabel. "But you were a good guy in his stories."

"'Good' and 'bad' are subjective. As you get older, you'll come to realize that," said Merlin.

"Is kidnaping people and holding them hostage considered 'good' to you?" asked Dipper.

"Sometimes, you have to do bad things to get good results," replied Merlin.

"But is any result that comes out of bad things truly good?" asked Mabel.

"I'll leave it to the philosophers to answer that," said Merlin. "But let me tell you my story."

* * *

Merlin had grown up in a a world that was distrustful of magic. Most believed that wizards and witches were spawns of the devil, and Merlin was no exception. At the age of 5, his powers began developing, and as soon as his parents discovered them, they turned him in to the royal guard, who simply chucked him into a river. Merlin used his powers to create a bubble of safety for himself, and after about an hour in the river, he was found by a witch. The witch became his mentor, teaching him spells and different techniques for casting those spells. When Merlin was old enough to go off on his own, he set up a cottage just outside of Camelot, the capital of Great Britain..

One day, a young boy named Arthur walked into the cottage, looking for a missing sibling, and he found Merlin there instead. Unlike most of the people Merlin had encountered, Arthur wasn't afraid of his magic at all, and in fact, he wanted to learn more about it. Merlin decided to make Arthur his apprentice, hoping that Arthur would become a bridge between magical and non-magical beings in the future. The opportunity to do just that came when the king, who had no heirs or any close relatives, died, leaving Britain without a leader. Merlin used a spell to bind a sword to a stone which only Arthur could pull out. He then ordered Arthur to place the stone in front of the castle and tell all the country's messengers that the sword is a gift from God and that one true king can pull the sword out of it.

Over the next few weeks, some of Britain's strongest men came to the castle to pull the sword out of the stone, to increasingly large crowds. Every attempt ended in failure. 20 days after Merlin created the stone, Arthur visited his cottage.

"It's time," said Merlin.

Britain's strongest man yet approached the stone in front of the largest crowd yet. He pulled the sword's handle with all his might, but it seemed to feel tighter the more he pulled.

"There isn't a man in the world who can pull this sword out of this stone!" he said.

Arthur walked out of the crowd.

"I'll try it," said Arthur.

The man laughed. "Someone as scrawny as you will pull his arms off!"

"That's a risk I'm willing to take," said Arthur.

The man got out of the way as Arthur approached the stone. He put both hands over the handle and pulled. The sword easily slid out, and Arthur raised it in the air in front of an astounded crowd.

"All hail the king!" the people shouted.

Arthur was crowned king the next day. Merlin became his second-in-command, and they started working together to ensure Britain would be a more welcoming place for those with magical abilities. However, Arthur lost interest in that goal after a couple of months, choosing to go on adventures with his Knights of the Round Merlin watched over Camelot in his absence. Merlin soon got tired of Arthur's excursions, and he decided that once Arthur returned from his latest journey, he'd kill Arthur and take the crown for himself, integrating magic into British society by force if necessary.

Once Arthur returned home, he found Merlin sitting in his room staring back at him blankly.

"Hello, Arthur," he said.

Arthur started to back away.

"No," said Merlin. "Have a seat. I haven't seen you in so very long."

"I have business with one of my knights," said Arthur nervously..

"No," repeated Merlin. "You have business with me!"

Merlin hands began to glow, and he shot a blast of energy at Arthur. Arthur jumped out of the way, whispered a quick spell, and shot a blast of energy back at Merlin. Merlin fell to the ground weakly.

"What...what did you do to me?" asked Merlin.

"I don't know! It was spell I remembered reading in your book while I was your apprentice! It was the first one to come to mind!" said Arthur.

"I'll...kill...you," said Merlin before passing out.

* * *

"And I woke up here," said Merlin, in the room with Dipper and Mabel.

"Why did you tell us all that?" asked Dipper.

"I always thought it was a very nice story, even if it didn't have a happy ending for me. Sometimes stories don't need happy endings. I doubt everybody in this room will get their happy ending, but I hope you enjoy the story anyway," said Merlin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Mabel.

"Doesn't matter," said Merlin. "Just have that straw spun into gold by tomorrow morning or you'll have forfeited Soos' life."

"How are we supposed to do that?" asked Dipper. "I don't have magical powers like you do."

"Neither did Arthur," said Merlin. "Or so I thought. Perhaps everyone has magic inside them. It took the threat of death to bring Arthur's magic out, and it'll take the threat of your friend's death to bring your magic out."

"And if it doesn't?" said Dipper.

"It will," said Merlin.

Merlin disappeared.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Okay, not a lot happened in this chapter, despite it being the longest chapter so far. I will make up for it with a lot of action over the next few chapters, but I wanted to get most of the exposition out of the way first, including Merlin's origin story. Speaking of exposition, that first scene with Peter/Pinocchio has been my favorite one to write so far, even though it didn't have much dialogue until the end. While I enjoy writing dialogue, I also like going into people's heads, which I was able to do with Peter. I also managed to fit in references to The Boy Who Cried Wolf, Pinocchio, and Peter and Wolf in that relatively small passage. (Though, outside of the names, you probably missed the PatW reference.) I definitely want to do more mini-fairy tales like that and the Arthur flashback later in the chapter, since they provide important world-building and they're really fun to write. Hopefully, they don't push every chapter over 2,000 words, since I value your sanity as much as mine. Keep your eyes peeled for the next one! It probably won't take a month to release! Probably!


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

The Big Bad Wolf walked into the dungeon, where Peter now sat with Soos and Prince Charming.

"Have you three been getting acquainted?" asked the wolf.

Prince Charming spit at the wolf's face, and the wolf lunged at him. Suddenly, Merlin appeared and grabbed the wolf's tail before he could reach Prince Charming.

"Now, now, don't let them get to you," said Merlin. "We still need them alive."

"Sorry, boss," said the wolf.

"You're lucky I was watching from my crystal ball," Merlin said to the prince. "Otherwise, I'd be cleaning up whatever was left of you."

"Why didn't you come down here yourself?" asked Peter.

"I don't particularly enjoy talking to regular humans," said Merlin. "And while I have a talking wolf, I might as well put him to good use."

"These humans should be grateful just to be alive," snarled the wolf.

Prince Charming prepared to spit on the wolf again, but Merlin waved his hand, and Prince Charming was unable to open his mouth.

"What's wrong?" asked Merlin. "Wizard got your tongue?"

The wolf laughed.

"I know you haven't been eating, so I doubt you'll miss that mouth of yours much, anyway," said Merlin.

Merlin turned to Soos and Peter.

"What about you two? Will you join this fool in starvation?" asked Merlin.

"Well," said Soos, "I could use a little more of that squirrel meat."

Merlin laughed and made a plate of squirrel meat appear in Soos' lap.

"Enough for three," said Merlin, right before he and his wolf disappeared.

"I thought you were going to join this hunger strike with us," said Peter.

"I'm sorry," said Soos. "My stomach does the thinking instead of my brain sometimes. I promise I won't eat an ounce of this squirrel meat."

An hour later, Soos had finished the entire plate.

"You aren't very good at hunger strikes," said Peter.

"It doesn't matter, anyway," grumbled Prince Charming.

Peter and Soos looked at Prince Charming with surprise.

"You can talk again!" exclaimed Peter.

"Yeah," said Prince Charming. "I've been able to since Merlin left. Just had a lot on my mind."

"Why did you say it doesn't matter?" asked Peter.

"Because once we're on the verge of starvation, Merlin will just pop right down here and fill our bellies with magic. He'll let us suffer until then, but while he needs us, we aren't going anywhere," said Prince Charming.

"Then why did you suggest the hunger strike in the first place?"

"Because I wanted to feel like I was doing _something_. I promised Snow White that I'd find her, and I won't be able to find her until I get out of this dungeon."

"Where do you think Snow White is?"

"I don't know. This is a very large land. She could be anywhere."

Several flights above them, Mabel watched her brother turn the spinning wheel absentmindedly, broken pieces of straw all around him.

"You okay?" asked Mabel.

"Soos is going to die tomorrow," said Dipper. "And there's nothing I can do to stop it."

Mabel didn't know what to say. She looked out the window. It had been dark for several hours.

"We should get some sleep." she said. "There's no point staying up all night dwelling on this."

Dipper nodded. He then laid on the pile of straw with Mabel, and they slowly fell asleep.

A sudden, bright light woke them up just minutes later. The light dimmed to reveal a triangular one-eyed creature wearing a top hat and a bow tie.

Dipper gasped. "Bill Cipher?"

"The one and only!" said Bill. "How have you two been?"

"Well..." started Mabel.

"I'm just kidding. I don't care," said Bill.

"How did you get here?" asked Dipper.

"I'm an interdimensional being," said Bill. "Coming here is no different than you going to your local coffee shop."

"So we're in another dimension?" asked Mabel.

"Yes you are!" said Bill. "And you've chosen quite an interesting dimension to go to."

"We didn't come here intentionally," said Dipper, annoyed.

"Yes, you got here through a book," said Bill. "I've been watching you ever since your first adventure in that forest. I heard Merlin's spiel about 'everyone having magic inside of them', and I'm sorry to tell you that it simply isn't true. Some people do have magic inside of them, but even in this dimension it's super rare, and Arthur only got his because of the Holy Grail."

Mabel got excited. "The Holy Grail can give people the ability to do magic?"

"Yeah, but only one person can drink out of it every hundred years," said Bill. "And it's been maybe a year in this realm since Arthur found the grail."

"How do you know all this?" questioned Dipper.

"I know a lot of things," said Bill. "Like the fact that there were two visitors before you, and one of those visitors found himself in the exact same situation you find yourself in right now."

Dipper raised an eyebrow. "What was that visitor's name?"

"His name was Walt Disney," said Bill.

"Walt Disney? The movie guy? You're crazy!" said Dipper.

"I am crazy, but I'm also telling the truth," said Bill. "When he was 12 years old, he read from the same book Mabel did to come here, though he was with an older cousin. He never told anyone about it, but I saw it with my own eye."

Dipper wasn't sure whether to believe Bill, but he also wasn't sure why Bill would lie.

"Why are you here? Really?" asked Dipper.

"Well, ol' Walt needed outside help to get that straw sewn into gold, and you're getting that same help," said Bill.

"Who's helping us?" asked Mabel.

"He doesn't want you to know who he is yet. All you need to know is he wants to stop Merlin just like we do," said Bill.

"What did Merlin ever do to you, anyway, to make you want to stop him?" asked Dipper.

"He's trying to get to your dimension and take it over," said Bill. "And I called dibs on your dimension."

"How is he planning to get there?" asked Mabel.

"Once you finish the last story, you'll find the book again, and it'll take you back to your dimension. However, since three people came here through the book, only three people can return, and I'm pretty sure Merlin wants those people to be him, his wife, and the Big Bad Wolf," explained Bill.

"Well, we're not going to let that happen," said Dipper.

"Yeah, Merlin's going down!" said Mabel.

"And after we're done with him, we're taking _you_ down, Bill!" said Dipper.

"You're free to try," said Bill. "But this is probably what will happen if you do."

Bill snapped his fingers, and Dipper's face melted. Mabel's face did the same, and Bill laughed. Suddenly, Dipper and Mabel woke up, and the pile of straw they were sleeping on was now a pile of golden cloth.

"What the," started Dipper.

"Somebody must have done this in our sleep," said Mabel.

"Wait," said Dipper. "Did you have the same dream I did?"

"If your dream ended with both our faces getting melted, then yeah."

Dipper sighed. "At least Soos will be alive a little longer."

Merlin appeared, and he smiled when he saw the cloth.

"I knew you could do it," said Merlin.

Dipper clenched his fists. "We want Soos back."

"You're in no position to make demands," said Merlin.

"You know I have magic in me," said Dipper. "How do you know I won't do to you what Arthur did to you?"

"Because you don't have the nerve," said Merlin.

Upon hearing that, Dipper's fists loosened.

"Don't miss me too much when you're gone. You'll be seeing me again soon enough," said Merlin.

Dipper and Mabel were back in the forest seconds later. Dipper was wearing green clothes now. He had a bow in his hand and a quiver of arrows strapped to his back.

"You must be Robin Hood!" said Mabel.

"Well, at least I wasn't turned into a fox or something," said Dipper.

"Where do we go now?" wondered Mabel.

"There's only one place we can go," said Dipper. "Back to the castle."

"Are you sure?" asked Mabel.

"As sure as I'll ever be," said Dipper. "Come on. Let's get our friends back."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** Another relatively short chapter. Sorry you had to wait so long for it. One thing that excited me about this chapter was bringing in Bill Cipher, and he's definitely someone you'll be seeing again. Since school has started, I can't promise I'll keep churning out a chapter a month, but I would like to get the next three chapters out by the end of the year. I resisted going into another backstory this chapter, which is one of the reasons it's shorter than I thought it would be, but expect to hear more about Walt's time in fairy tale world, because it's a story I would really love to do. Also, expect to find out about Dipper's mysterious helper in the next chapter or two. I originally planned to have Dipper "sleep-sew" while he talked to Bill in his dream, but I thought that was unrealistic even for a story about fairy tales, so I just used a character I planned to introduce later on, anyway. Stay tuned for that!


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Peter sat in the dungeon, watching Soos and Prince Charming sleep. He had been unable to sleep himself, even though he had been awake for almost 24 hours at that point. He didn't flinch when Merlin appeared out of thin air in front of him.

"Hello, Peter," said Merlin.

"What do you want?" Peter grumbled.

"It's time."

"Time for what?"

"Time to wish upon a star."

* * *

Dipper and Mabel were still in forest, struggling to find their way out.

"I'm pretty sure we've passed this tree before," said Mabel. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

"Of course I am!" said Dipper.

Dipper didn't actually know where they were going, but he wasn't telling Mabel that. He wished for a miracle, a sign that would lead them to the castle.

Suddenly, a bright light appeared in the sky, illuminating Merlin's palace below it.

"There it is!" Dipper breathed a sigh of relief.

"Great! Let's go!" said Mabel.

Dipper and Mabel started walking towards the bright light. The light began to dim as they got closer.

"We better hurry up!" said Mabel.

"I hope whatever that light is coming from doesn't turn out to be as much of a pain as Merlin," said Dipper.

* * *

Peter swallowed as Merlin circled his wand around Peter's neck.

"Don't worry, boy," said Merlin. "It'll all be over soon."

Peter and Merlin were standing in front of a bright blue light. It got brighter and brighter, so bright that Peter had to squint at what was coming out of the bright blue light.

"Why did you call me?" asked a soft, feminine voice.

The voice belonged to the Blue Fairy, who only saw an outline of Peter and the man behind him until she floated near enough to see Merlin with his wand to Peter's throat.

The Blue Fairy gasped. " _You_ again!"

"Did you really think it was over after last time?" said Merlin.

"No, but I hoped you'd come up with original material."

The Blue Fairy pulled out her wand, which looked similar to Merlin's, only it was glowing and had a star-shaped tip. Merlin pointed at the wand with his free hand, and it disappeared.

"I see you still use your hands like a barbarian," said the Blue Fairy.

"It's not as precise, but I still prefer them. Feels more natural," said Merlin.

"You're an embarrassment to magic," spat the Blue Fairy.

"I don't use my wand much, but I do still need it for spells that require more precision," said Merlin. "Like the death spell."

The Blue Fairy's wand flew back into her hand, and she pointed it at Merlin.

"If you hurt Pinocchio…" she started.

"If you do what I tell you, Pinocchio will be just fine."

"At least until the next time you kidnap him."

"Whether my plan works or not, there won't be a next time."

The Blue Fairy's wand began to shake.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"I mean that if my plan works, I'll be gone, and you'll never have to worry about me again. If it doesn't work, I'll give up on my plan entirely and cut my losses, meaning your little pet project will come to an end."

The Blue Fairy saw Peter looking back at her with scared eyes. She sighed and lowered her wand.

"What do you want?" asked the Blue Fairy.

"Same as last time," said Merlin. "I want you to help us finish our next story."

"How do you even know this spell will work? It hasn't been tried before."

"It was tried before, and it would have been successful if you hadn't betrayed me."

"How do you know I won't betray you again?"

"Because of this."

Merlin pointed his wand at Peter's mouth, and a ghost-like form came out of it. Peter collapsed.

"What did you just do?" screamed the Blue Fairy.

"I tethered the boy's life force to my wand. It's a wonderful spell I just learned. Don't worry. If my plan succeeds, I'll return his life force, and you two can live happily ever after, as they say, However, if my plan fails, I'll break the wand, wiping poor Pinocchio's life force from existence."

"Please," said the Blue Fairy. "He's just a child. He doesn't deserve this."

"Which is why you'll help ensure my plan succeeds."

The Blue Fairy floated towards Peter's body and waved her wand over it, hoping to detect any signs of life. When she didn't, she shook her head and turned to Merlin..

"Okay," she said. "I'll help you."

Merlin smiled. "I knew you would."

* * *

By the time Dipper and Mabel reached the palace, the light had been gone for several minutes.

"Well, I'm glad that gate was still open," said Dipper.

"It's almost like he was expecting us," said Mabel, thinking for a moment, then dismissing what she thought.

Dipper kicked open the door of the palace, bow and arrow raised.

"Hello?" shouted Dipper. The only response he got was his own echo.

"Where's Merlin?" wondered Mabel.

"Whatever he's up to, it can't be good," said Dipper.

As Dipper and Mabel walked around the palace, Merlin watched them through his crystal ball. Evelyn and the Big Bad Wolf were with him in his room.

"Why did you let them in our palace?" asked Evelyn.

"You'll see," responded Merlin.

Dipper led Mabel into the palace's kitchen. There was a large table in the middle of the floor with several different cakes on it. On the wall adjacent to them was a painting of a Roman arch.

"Look at all those cakes!" said Mabel.

"We aren't here for cakes," said Dipper. "We're here to find Soos and Prince Charming."

"But do we have to do that on an empty stomach?"

"We have to find the dungeon before Merlin finds out we're here."

"How do you know the entrance to the dungeon is in here, though?"

"I remember the wolf coming here after being told to check up on the prisoners."

"Maybe he just stopped here for a snack first."

"Still, it doesn't hurt to look."

Mabel looked into the cabinets around the kitchen while Dipper looked under the table, hoping to find a lever, switch, or anything else that would help them find the dungeon. After looking through the last cabinet, Mabel leaned on the painting of the arch. Suddenly, she fell through. Dipper saw this as he got out from under the table.

"Mabel!" shouted Dipper.

Dipper ran to the painting and realized that the inside of the painted arch was a magical doorway. He first put an arm through it then carefully let the rest of his body in. He ended up at the top of a dark stairwell.

"Mabel?" said Dipper shakily.

"I'm down here!" said Mabel.

Dipper breathed a sigh of relief before running down the stairs and reuniting with his sister, who was now with Soos and Prince Charming.

"Soos! I'm so glad you're okay!" said Dipper.

"Thanks, Dipper," said Soos. "Say, what are you, Peter Pan?"

"No, I'm Robin Hood," said Dipper.

"Wait, isn't that Batman's sidekick?"

"It's good to have you back, Soos."

Mabel was rousing Prince Charming awake.

"Hey, Charming. It's me, Charming. I'm back," said Mabel.

Prince Charming woke up and looked at Mabel with confusion.

"I'm sorry," said Prince Charming. "Do I know you?"

Mabel's heart sank.

"Of course you know me," she said. "It's me, Ma…Snow White."

"I've never heard that name before. Say, how did I end up here?" said Prince Charming.

Mabel and Dipper looked at one another. Suddenly, both of them were in Merlin's room. They saw Soos and Prince Charming in the crystal ball and Merlin in the corner of the room with the pile of golden cloth from the last story.

"Ah, Robin Hood!" said Merlin. "You must be here to steal my gold."

Dipper took out his bow and arrow, and Merlin waved a hand to make it disappear.

"You should know better by now than to think that silly little thing will hurt me," said Merlin.

"What did you do to Prince Charming?" asked Mabel.

"I put a memory curse on him," said Merlin. "Memory curses are really effective, but they take a few days to get working, so you see why I couldn't have him roaming about."

"Did you know we were here this entire time?" asked Dipper.

"Of course I did."

"Why didn't you stop us?" asked Mabel.

"Well, for one, I had to see if pretty boy's love for you would affect my curse again, in which case I would have had to make it stronger, and for two, I just love seeing you and your brother sleuth around thinking I'm not one step ahead you every step you take."

"Whatever game you're playing, we don't want any part of it," said Dipper.

"You started playing my game as soon as you entered this world, and as long as you're in this world, you'll continue playing it. Don't forget that Soos is still in the dungeon, and despite your best heroics, he's not coming out until I say he can. Now, take this gold, leave my palace, and let us begin our next story. It's a good one."

Dipper sighed and took the golden cloth. Mabel helped him carry it down the stairs, and when she looked in the direction of the kitchen, she saw that the door was no longer there.

"Well, I guess we aren't making a return visit to the dungeon," said Mabel.

Merlin watched them leave the palace from his crystal ball. Evelyn and the wolf were in the room with him again.

"I can't believe it's almost over," said Merlin. "Soon, we'll be gods, all three of us."

"I'll admit that 'Evelyn the Goddess' has a nice ring to it," said Evelyn. "But it's a shame that going to the world the children came from will mean leaving the children here."

"They'll survive," said Merlin.

"What about Pinocchio?" asked the wolf.

"I plan to destroy his life force in front of the Blue Fairy whether she helps me or not, just because I want to see the look on her face when it happens."

The wolf smiled. "You always manage to find new ways to impress me."

Merlin took his wand and threw it out the room.

"Hey, boy! Fetch!" said Merlin.

"Your wish is my command," said the wolf.

As the wolf ran after the wand, Merlin returned to his crystal ball and watched Dipper and Mabel begin their new adventure.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** It's finally done! The chapter's super late again due to the regular hindrances of school and laziness, but I'll be rolling the next two out super-fast. In fact, I'll start working on chapter nine right now. As Merlin would say, it'll be a good one.

Also, I finally figured out how to change the story icon, so say goodbye to DipWolf for good.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

Mabel was in a cold room lit only by a fireplace.

"Where am I?" wondered Mabel. "Who am I?"

Suddenly, a pair of teenage girls barged into the room.

"Why aren't you dressed, Cinderella?" asked one of the girls.

 _Cinderella_ , thought Mabel.

"The ball's in an hour! You better get dressed if you don't want us to leave you!" said the other girl.

"Assuming we don't leave you, anyway," said the first girl, laughing.

Mabel felt a sudden rush of anger. She told herself it was just a story.

"If you aren't dressed by the time the carriage comes, we're gone," said the second girl.

The girls left the room. Mabel ran to a closet, picking out the prettiest dress that she could find and getting into it. When she left the room, the girls looked at her and started laughing.

"Did you really think we'd let you go to the ball with us?" said the first girl.

"Keep dreaming," said the second girl.

"But, but, but," stuttered Mabel.

"Oh look, our carriage!" said the first girl.

"Bye bye!" said the second girl.

Mabel watched as the girls walked out of the house and got into a carriage waiting for them outside. She told herself again that it was just a story, but that couldn't keep the tears from falling. She didn't know exactly why, but she really wanted to go to the ball.

"Hey, Mabel!" said a small, squeaky voice.

Mabel looked down and saw a mouse waving at her.

"It's me, Dipper!" said the mouse.

"Oh! I totally forgot about you!" said Mabel.

"What?" said Dipper.

"Nothing."

"Listen, you need to finish this story quick, because your stepsisters have a cat, and it is hungry!"

"Alright, alright," said Mabel. "I just need to wait for my fairy godmother to appear."

Suddenly, a bright blue glow appeared in front of Mabel, and once it disappeared, the Blue Fairy was standing there.

"Hello," said the Blue Fairy. "I'm your fairy godmother."

"How did you know to come here?" asked Mabel.

"I was summoned by your tears," said the Blue Fairy. "Now, girl, why are you crying?"

Mabel sighed. "I wanted to go to the ball, but my stepsisters won't let me."

"That's no good," said the Blue Fairy. "I'll make sure you go to the ball, and I'll make sure you look hot doing it!"

The Blue Fairy touched Mabel with her wand, and Mabel's dress became long, blue, and sparkling.

"Wow," said Dipper.

"And don't think I didn't hear your problem," said the Blue Fairy.

The Blue Fairy waved her wand, and a cat was dragged out of another room by an invisible force.

"Off with his head!" shouted Dipper.

Mabel looked at Dipper with surprise.

"Sorry. Got a little too into it," said Dipper.

"I won't chop off his head," said the Blue Fairy. "But I will ensure that he can't bother you."

The Blue Fairy motioned down with her wand, and a cage dropped on the cat.

"I like her!" said Dipper.

"Well, you'll like me even more after this," said the Blue Fairy.

The Blue Fairy tapped each of Mabel's feet, and glass slipper appeared on both.

"Wow!" said Mabel.

"And last but not least…" said the Blue Fairy before opening the door to reveal a pumpkin-shaped carriage waiting for her.

Mabel picked Dipper up and ran to the carriage. The Blue Fairy followed them. Once all three of them were in the carriage, the carriage rode itself to the palace where the ball was being held.

"Remember," said the Blue Fairy. "You have to leave the palace by midnight, for that is when this spell will end."

"Why don't you just let this spell go on forever?" asked Dipper.

"Because shut up, that's why," said the Blue Fairy. "Now have fun."

Mabel ran into the palace and immediately recognized one of the faces.

"Prince Charming?" she gasped.

Prince Charming was standing alone among the dancers, drinking wine. Once he saw Mabel run in, he went greet her.

"Hello," said Prince Charming. "I've never seen you in my kingdom before. What's your name?"

"Cinderella," said Mabel, slightly sad that he still didn't remember her.

"Well, Cinderella, I would hope you would grant me the honor of having this dance."

As Mabel and Prince Charming danced, Dipper climbed a table, drawn to it by the smell of cheese. He found a tiny man sitting on the table eating cheese himself.

"W-who are you?" asked Dipper.

"The name's Tom Thumb," said the tiny man. "You don't know who I am, but I know who you are."

"You do?" said Dipper, shocked.

"Yeah, you started out as a big ol' wolf, but now you're as little as I am."

"You've been following me this entire time?"

"Not just me. I'm sure you're well-acquainted with Bill Cipher."

"That's one way to describe my relationship with him."

"Well, we've been working together to stop Merlin."

"How do you know Bill Cipher?"

"He showed up the last time we had a visitor."

Dipper rolled his eyes. "Walt Disney, right?"

"Yes. I see Bill told you. Anyway, he showed up to me in a dream. Told me he wanted me to use my magical spinning power to help Walt finish a story."

"Wait, magical spinning power? It was you who spun the straw into gold?"

Tom Thumb nodded. "I asked Bill not to tell you it was me while you were sleeping because I didn't want to risk you mentioning anything about me after you woke up. Merlin is well aware that Bill stops by here every now and then, but I've managed to keep my presence a secret from him for this long, and I'd rather it stays that way."

"Merlin doesn't know you're here? Where are you from?"

"I'm from Merlin's world. I was King Arthur's friend since childhood, and I overheard Merlin's plans to kill him. I told Arthur as soon as he returned from his quest for the Holy Grail, and he seemed sad, though not surprised, to hear about it. After thinking for a while, he said that he was going to perform a spell on Merlin that would send him to another world, one not even he could escape from. He ordered me to hide in Merlin's robe first, so that when did the spell, I could go with Merlin and protect him in his new world, or protect the world from Merlin, if necessary."

"I imagine you wouldn't be here talking to me right now if you didn't think it was necessary."

Tom Thumb finished his cheese and wiped his hands on his shirt.

"I had to make sure Merlin wasn't watching us through his crystal ball first," said Tom Thumb. "He's currently having a meeting with the Blue Fairy. Should be a while. He told Evelyn to watch you and the girl while he was gone, but I know for a fact that when she's supposedly monitoring you, she's monitoring Merlin instead. She's a very jealous queen."

"So what did you come here to tell us?" asked Dipper.

"The story you're currently in is the final one before you find the storybook that brought you here."

"Really? Thank goodness. If I turned into another animal I'd go insane."

"But you have to make sure Merlin isn't around when you, your sister, and your friend have the storybook, or he'll kill you all without thought."

"That's easier said than done."

"Don't worry. The Blue Fairy isn't just helping you in this story. She'll make sure you get home safe."

"Didn't you just say she was meeting with Merlin? What's that about?"

"Let's just say it's about something from her past."

Tom Thumb was looking at the grandfather clock next to them more and more often now.

"I'm sorry," he said. "But I'll have to be going now. Don't tell your sister about this discussion we had just yet. Merlin will be watching her much more closely than he'll be watching you, and he'll be able to tell when something's off. Goodbye!"

Tom Thumb jumped off the table.

"Wait!" said Dipper.

Dipper grabbed some cheese from the plate behind him then slid down the table with the cheese in his mouth.

"Tom?" cried Dipper after gulping down the cheese.

Dipper scurried through dancing feet until he was outside the palace. He saw the Blue Fairy floating above him.

"It's almost time," the Blue Fairy said. "Where is she?"

Mabel felt like she and Prince Charming were the only two people in the ballroom as they danced and laughed together. Suddenly, Mabel heard the donging of the midnight bell, and she ran off, making sure to leave one of her glass slippers where Prince Charming would find it.

"Cinderella!" said Prince Charming. "Where are you going?"

Mabel didn't answer him. Once she was outside, Dipper and the Blue Fairy followed her to the carriage. As the carriage rode them to Cinderella's house, Mabel continued to tell herself that it was just a story, but even as she was telling herself that, she knew it wasn't true. Prince Charming, and the rest of the people she encountered in this world, weren't storybook characters. They were actual people who Merlin manipulated for his own means. All she wanted to do was help them, but she didn't know how. Ever since she was a little girl, she loved reading about magic and seeing it used in cartoons, but she never really thought about the dark side of it. Magic being used to take away people's free will, it was sickening, and she was sickened by taking advantage of it, even though the love she felt for Prince Charming was real.

That night, Mabel lay awake in bed as the teenage girls returned home, clearly drunk. As they swore and stumbled about, they noticed their cat in a cage.

"Cinderella!" shouted the first girl. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Don't worry, little munchkins," said the second girl. "We'll make sure she never touches you again."

Dipper walked out of a hole in the wall.

"What's all the commotion about?" he inquired.

"Aah! A rat!" said the first girl.

"I'm not a rat!" said Dipper indignantly. "How much wine did you two drink?"

The girls started running around, and Dipper shrugged and walked back into the hole. Mabel was still lying awake in bed, tuning everything around her out.

* * *

 **Author's Note:** I said I'd get this one out super-fast, and while it wasn't super-fast, it was still fast enough that I don't hate myself. There's one more coming out next week, and then you'll have to endure another long break, but I'll make sure to get it to a very nice stopping point before that. Consider next chapter the midseason finale, if midseasons lasted an entire year. :P


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Mabel woke up the next afternoon. She didn't know when she finally fell asleep, but it must have been late. She walked out of her room to find her stepsisters measuring each other's dresses.

"Oh, Cinderella!" said the first stepsister. "It's about time you woke up."

"Yeah," said the other stepsister. "We were worried for a moment that you'd died. It would have been very inconvenient for us. Neither of us looks very good in black."

Mabel ignored the slight. "What are you two getting dressed up for?"

"Prince Charming issued a directive for all women who attended last night's ball to return to his palace," said the first stepsister.

"You'll probably want to get dressed, too," said the second stepsister. "Oh, wait! You weren't _at_ the ball last night!"

The stepsisters laughed as they walked out of the house and got into their carriage. Mabel walked out after them.

"Shows what you know," muttered Mabel.

As the stepsisters' carriage drove away, the Blue Fairy's pumpkin-shaped carriage pulled up into its spot. The Blue Fairy materialized outside the carriage.

"Hello, Cinderella," said the Blue Fairy. "I hope you slept well last night."

"Unfortunately, I didn't," said Mabel.

"Why?"

"You wouldn't understand."

The Blue Fairy put a hand on Mabel's shoulder. "I understand much more than you might think."

Mabel looked at the Blue Fairy with a confused expression on her face.

"Enough of that, then," said the Blue Fairy. "Ready for your return trip to the palace?"

"I guess so," said Mabel.

The Blue Fairy tapped Mabel on the head with her wand, and Mabel's nightgown turned back into the sparkling blue dress she wore the night before.

"I remember you still had your glass slippers on after the spell ended. Mind telling me what happened to them?" asked the Blue Fairy.

"I…uh…" Mabel knew what she did with one of the slippers, but she didn't know what happened to the other one. "Give me a minute."

Mabel ran back into the house, and she saw her glass slipper moving around the floor. Mabel picked the glass slipper up to reveal Dipper under it.

"Man, your feet are smelly!" said Dipper.

Mabel stuck her tongue out at Dipper as she put the slipper on. Dipper followed her as she went into the carriage, where the Blue Fairy was now waiting for her.

"Where's the other slipper?" asked the Blue Fairy.

"It doesn't matter!" said Mabel. "Let's go!"

The Blue Fairy shrugged as the carriage started rolling.

* * *

Prince Charming surveyed the women who had come into his palace. None of them resembled the girl he had seen the night before, but perhaps the wine had simply altered her appearance. He took out the glass slipper he found after the girl left, and then he ordered the women to take off their shoes. He tried the slipper on them one by one, but it didn't fit any of them. Just as he was about to give up in frustration, Mabel walked into the palace.

"Sorry I'm late," said Mabel. "We were stopped by a couple of officers. They hadn't seen a self-drawn carriage before."

"It's you!" said Prince Charming.

Prince Charming noticed Mabel's bare foot and helped her put the other glass slipper on.

"Thanks," said Mabel.

"Wait a minute," said one of the stepsisters, who was with the women. "I know her!"

The other stepsister recognized Mabel, too.

"Of course!" she said. "How didn't we see it?"

"Probably because we were drunk," said the first stepsister.

"Yeah, that," said the other.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask the rest of you to leave," said Prince Charming.

"What?" said the first stepsister. "You'll take the maid over all of us?"

"Every time," said Prince Charming.

The stepsisters grumbled as they left with the rest of the women.

"I'm so glad I found you," said Prince Charming.

"I'm glad I found you, too," said Mabel.

As Mabel and Prince Charming leaned in for a kiss, Mabel noticed a glow coming from another room.

"What's that?" asked Mabel.

Prince Charming turned around. "It's the library."

Mabel and Prince Charming walked into the library, shielding their eyes from the glow, which coming from a book sitting on a table in the middle of the room.

"That wasn't there before," said Prince Charming.

"Wait a minute. I know that book!" said Mabel.

The glow disappeared as Mabel ran towards the book. On the cover were the words "Fairy Tales and Other Stories for Children".

"We did it!" said Mabel.

"You did what?" asked Prince Charming.

Mabel jumped, not noticing that Prince Charming was now right behind her.

"Nothing!" said Mabel.

"What's that book about?" asked Prince Charming.

"Nothing!"

"What are you hiding from me?"

Mabel sighed, and she opened the book to the last page, which contained an illustration of her and Prince Charming about to kiss. Under that illustration were the words: "And they lived happily ever after."

"That's me!" said Prince Charming. "That's you!"

Prince Charming started to back away.

"How is that even possible?" he asked. "Are you a witch? Are you working with Merlin?"

"No, I'm not working with Merlin!" said Mabel. "Quite the opposite! I'm working against him."

"I don't believe you," said Prince Charming. "I don't believe anything you say."

Prince Charming stormed out of the library. Seconds later, Merlin walked in with his wand held to Prince Charming's neck.

"That was even easier than I thought it would be," said Merlin.

"I know why you're here!" said Mabel.

"Oh, do you?" said Merlin.

"Yeah, you want to use this book to go back to my world."

"And I assume you're going to try and stop me?"

Mabel watched as Prince Charming tried to break free of Merlin's grip, to no avail. She felt a similar lack of power in this moment, as she knew that whatever she might try to do could lead to Prince Charming's death, something she'd never forgive herself for.

"I'm not," she finally whispered.

Merlin smiled. "Good. Evelyn and Big Bad should be on their way. There's a broom outside waiting to take you to my palace, or rather, _your_ palace now that I won't have anything more to do with it. Consider it a gift for all your troubles."

Mabel turned to the book, closed it, then hurled it at Merlin in a fit of rage. Merlin was able to stop it in midair, but then he fell to the ground as a blast of energy hit him in the back. He let go of Prince Charming, who immediately ran out of the palace, not even stopping when he saw Merlin's attacker, the Blue Fairy.

"You were right when you said this wasn't over," said the Blue Fairy. "But when I'm done with you, it will be."

Merlin laughed. "Betrayed once again! Why am I not surprised? At least this time, you'll have something to lose from it."

Merlin snapped his wand in two and threw it at the Blue Fairy's feet. The Blue Fairy simply smiled.

"Oh, Pinocchio!" shouted the Blue Fairy.

Peter walked into the palace and waved at the dumbfounded Merlin.

"How did you bring him back to life?" asked Merlin.

"Simple. I got a friend of mine to switch your wand out with a decoy while you slept."

"That's impossible. Big Bad watches the wand while I sleep."

"Big Bad is also unable to resist the smell of duck. Once we found that out about him, creating a diversion was easy."

"Well, I might not have my wand, but I can still beat you into submission!"

Merlin shot a powerful blast of energy out of his hands, which the Blue Fairy dodged before pointing her wand at Merlin's hands, freezing them.

"What the?" said Merlin, shaking his frozen hands.

"It's something new I learned from the Snow Queen," said the Blue Fairy.

Merlin jumped into the air, and blasts of energy started shooting out of his feet. The Blue Fairy flew around each blast, getting close enough to Merlin to hit him with her wand, knocking him out. She then walked outside the palace and put Merlin on his broom. The broom flew away with the unconscious Merlin slouched over it. Peter and Mabel joined the Blue Fairy outside of the palace, Mabel holding the book of fairy tales.

"Oh, you have the book!" said the Blue Fairy. "Good! Grab the other people you came here with and get out as fast as you can!"

"Dipper?" cried Mabel.

"Down here," said Dipper, who walked out of the palace with Tom Thumb, both of their mouths stained with cheese.

"I wish I could see the look on Merlin's face again when he found out about the wands," said Tom Thumb.

"Yes, that was a brilliant idea," said the Blue Fairy. "I'm glad you could pull it off."

"I'm sorry," said Mabel. "Who are you?"

"Oh, right!" said Tom Thumb. "Greetings! I'm Tom Thumb!"

Tom Thumb extended a tiny arm, and Mabel giggled as she shook it.

"Alright, now let's get Soos and get out of here," said Dipper.

"Where's this Soos at?" asked the Blue Fairy.

"Locked up in Merlin's dungeon," said Mabel.

"I'll take you there," said the Blue Fairy.

The Blue Fairy tapped Mabel, Dipper, and herself with her wand, and they appeared in Merlin's dungeon, where Soos sat alone in the darkness.

"Soos, we just finished the last fairy tale," said Mabel. "It's time to go home."

"Oh, that's great!" said Soos. "I don't know how much longer I could have handled it down here."

"So how exactly do we do this?" asked Dipper.

"Just read what's on the last page aloud," said the Blue Fairy.

Mabel turned the last page with the picture of her and Prince Charming, and she choked the first time she tried to read it, remembering her last encounter with Prince Charming.

"Are you okay?" asked the Blue Fairy.

"Yes, I am," said Mabel.

Mabel took a deep breath, and then she tried again.

"And they lived happily ever after," she read.

Mabel blinked, and she was back in the Mystery Shack holding the book. She quickly closed the book and put it back where she got it from.

"Did you just go through the same thing I just went through?" asked Dipper, who was staring at his hands behind the counter.

"If you were just in a world of fairy tales, then yeah, we just went through the same thing," said Mabel.

Dipper sighed. "I'm just glad to be back in my own body."

"What about you, Soos? You've been more quiet than I thought you'd be right now," said Mabel.

"Oh, I've just been thinking," said Soos. "I'm going upstairs, if that's okay with you two."

"Of course," said Dipper.

Soos walked up the stairs into the attic, looking back a few times to make sure he wasn't being followed. He then closed his eyes, whispered a spell, and transformed into Merlin. Merlin opened his eyes and smiled.

"Finally," said Merlin. "I'm here."

* * *

 **Author's Note:** And it's done! Well, obviously, the story isn't done, but this is the stopping point I've built everything up to. Consider this the equivalent of a midseason finale. I imagined it being longer, but it turned out about as long as the last two chapters, and I'm fine with that. I had a lot of different ideas, and some of them were really wild, but I'm okay with how relatively straightforward this chapter turned out. There will be plenty of more time for things to get crazy. Thanks to everyone to followed and favorited this so far. It's not over yet!


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